A Challenging Year, With an Asterisk
- Insights Online
- 1 hour ago
- 13 min read
In an industry based on chance, the luck of the draw was perhaps the biggest story of lotteries’ FY25 sales and revenue performance.
By Patricia McQueen
Published December 16, 2025
At first glance, American lotteries had a rough year in FY25. The industry hasn’t experienced a 5.1% decline in traditional lottery sales for as long as we can remember, and it translated to $5.2 billion in lost sales from FY24 to FY25. Those are powerful numbers. Yet these lotteries still reported ticket sales for traditional products of more than $96.1 billion, a powerful number on its own.
The asterisk comes from looking at just two games. Powerball and Mega Millions. Based on random numbers, they are totally unpredictable – there can be back-to-back wins at base levels or the jackpot can grow to $1 billion or more in back-to-back jackpot runs. Lacking the multiple billion-dollar jackpots of recent years – there was just one during the July 2024 to June 2025 time frame, which covers the fiscal years of most lotteries – the big excitement was missing in FY25. Lottery players and consumers now expect those big jackpots, and are hard to motivate otherwise.
The two games combined generated just shy of $8 billion in sales during FY25, down from almost $13 billion the year before. On the surface, there’s most of the missing $5 billion in sales, but of course it’s not that simple. There are a lot of very different products in most lotteries’ portfolios, including newer products that are still growing and expanding to new jurisdictions.
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Every American lottery reported a decline in traditional sales in FY25, from a mere 1.6% slip in North Carolina (more on this one later) to 33% and 29.4% drops in North Dakota and Wyoming, respectively. Those two lotteries, without instant games to help moderate jackpot dependence, are used to wild rides.
We remind readers that reporting based on fiscal years necessarily means that not every lottery’s results will cover the same time period. Most American lotteries have a fiscal year that runs from July to June, but there are four exceptions: New York is April to March, Texas is September to August, and both Michigan and the District of Columbia run from October to September. The timing of a big jackpot run can impact different years for these lotteries compared to their peers. That is evident in FY25 results, with a $1.787 billion Powerball jackpot on September 6; both Michigan and the District of Columbia in particular had much better results in their years than other lotteries experienced, and Texas was impacted as well.
The national games have an even stronger impact on revenues to beneficiaries with their 50% prize payouts, compared to the higher payouts on instant games. Sales of instant games have moved upward due in no small part to higher price points, but those generally come at a cost – lower profit margins. Thus, revenue to beneficiaries doesn’t move in lock step with sales.
Then there are the other forms of gaming that many lotteries operate, including casino-style games (VLTs/slot machines and table games) and sports betting. Gross gaming revenue on these products increased across the board in FY25, with sports betting leading the way. Combined, they generated $13.2 billion in GGR, which is our default for “sales” in these categories.
All told, American lotteries generated almost $109.4 billion in sales in FY25, down $4 billion or 3.6%. They contributed $28.4 billion to their beneficiaries, down 7.1% from FY24.
The luck of the draw also impacted Canada’s two big national games, but in opposite ways. Lotto Max sales were up 17.5%, while Lotto 6/49 was down 12.6%. With Lotto Max being the bigger game, its stellar performance helped Canada’s four sales-reporting lotteries manage a combined 0.6% increase in traditional game sales, to C$8.3 billion. Including GGR from gaming in the Atlantic provinces, total sales for these four lottery organizations were more than C$8.7 billion, up 0.4% from the previous year.
As always, we always caution readers against comparing lotteries, given differences in history, product mix, demographics, stakeholder concerns and even geographies.
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Highlights Among Lotteries
Florida remained the leader in traditional game sales with $9.1 billion, a 3.0% decline from FY24. California’s 3.7% decline, to $8.9 billion, still left it comfortably ahead of Texas (in third with $7.9 billion, down 5.7%). Rounding out the top five were New York ($7.8 billion, down 4.7%) and Massachusetts ($5.9 billion, down 3.3%).
When net revenues from gaming and/or sports betting operations are factored in, New York continues to be the overall leader, with more than $10.2 billion in sales during FY25; $2.4 billion of that was net revenue from video lottery terminals. That total is down 2.8% from the previous year (as noted earlier, New York’s fiscal year ends March 31).
By our reckoning, every American lottery reported a decline in traditional game sales in FY25, with “traditional” sales including net revenues (after prizes) from eInstants in 11 jurisdictions. Some lotteries typically report gross play for those games, but for fairness in reporting across lotteries, we standardize here on net after prizes for eInstants (and casino-style gaming and sports betting, as well).
The North Carolina Education Lottery led the way with the smallest decline, 1.6%, with a caveat. NCEL is one of a few lotteries that report eInstants as gross play in their own financial reporting. By that measure, NCEL continues its outstanding run, increasing sales for 18 consecutive years since its full year of operation (FY2007).
Four other lotteries kept their declines in traditional game sales at 3.0% or under – Illinois (-2.6%), District of Columbia (-2.8%), Georgia (-3.0%), and Florida (-3.0%).
Because of video lottery operations, New York continues to send more money to beneficiaries than any other American lottery – $3.58 billion in FY25. Without the benefit of gaming, net proceeds from the next three top lotteries fall in line with their sales ranking. Florida returned $2.16 billion, California $1.93 billion, and Texas $1.81 billion.
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United States Sales Summary
(Dollars in millions)
FY 2024 | FY 2025 | Increase (Decrease) | % Change | |
Instants | $63,226.6 | $62,803.5 | ($423.1) | -0.7% |
Pulltabs | 307.7 | 301.1 | (6.6) | -2.1% |
eInstants | 1,002.9 | 1,301.4 | 298.5 | 29.8% |
Powerball | 7,807.5 | 3,931.6 | (3,875.9) | -49.6% |
Mega Millions | 5,175.0 | 4,037.9 | (1,137.1) | -22.0% |
Lotto America | 63.9 | 102.1 | 38.2 | 59.7% |
For Life games * | 720.6 | 696.5 | (24.0) | -3.3% |
All other lotto games | 3,652.8 | 3,533.5 | (119.3) | -3.3% |
Daily numbers (2-5 digits) | 11,933.1 | 11,817.2 | (115.9) | -1.0% |
Monitor games | 5,224.8 | 5,123.5 | (101.3) | -1.9% |
Daily keno | 64.8 | 62.1 | (2.8) | -4.3% |
Terminal-based instant games | 1,551.3 | 1,629.3 | 78.0 | 5.0% |
Raffles | 54.3 | 62.9 | 8.6 | 15.9% |
Cash Pop** | 419.9 | 600.7 | 180.8 | 43.1% |
All other games | 166.1 | 162.3 | (3.8) | -2.3% |
Total draw games | 36,833.9 | 31,759.4 | (5,074.5) | -13.8% |
Total traditional games | 101,371.2 | 96,165.4 | (5,205.7) | -5.1% |
Electronic gaming machines (net) | 9,226.2 | 9,669.6 | 443.4 | 4.8% |
Table games (net) | 1,086.6 | 1,094.9 | 8.3 | 0.8% |
Sports betting (net) | 1,783.5 | 2,450.0 | 666.5 | 37.4% |
Grand total sales | $113,467.5 | $109,379.9 | ($4,087.6) | -3.6% |
* Includes Lucky for Life, Cash4Life and Win for Life
** Excludes Cash Pop as a monitor game complement to Keno; those sales are included with monitor games
Game Performance
As noted earlier, the story of FY25 was the impact of the two national jackpot games. Lotteries rely on big jackpot games to generate excitement, and when combined with their prize structures, these games drive both sales and profits. With luck of the draw in a good year, lotteries can excel in both those categories. In a not-so-good year, sales and profits can sag, and as noted earlier, FY25 was one of those years.
Instant tickets account for some two-thirds of traditional lottery game sales in the U.S. For the fourth straight year, national sales of instant ticket sales recorded a small decline, following their stunning peak of nearly $65.4 billion in FY21; that was a year heavily fueled by pandemic-related closures of other entertainment options and post-pandemic impacts. Total instant sales were $62.8 billion, down just 0.7% from the previous year. Yet because of the decline in the national jackpot games, instant game market share jumped to 65.3% in FY25, the highest since FY22.
Thirteen lotteries managed to buck the trend and grow their instant game sales in FY25. Leading the way were Oregon (+9.3%), California (+5.0%), District of Columbia (+4.0%), Florida (+3.3%) and New Mexico (+3.0%).
The Oregon Lottery credits a stronger product mix, better retailer execution, and more player engagement for the increase in instant game sales. The first $30 tickets were top sellers, and the family game concept returned, giving players the opportunity to play across price points. Also returning were set game launch dates, ensuring retailers had the new games and players were aware of when they become available.
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Lotto America, available in 15 jurisdictions during the year, saw sales soar to $102.1 billion, up almost 60%. That was the most growth of any product category in FY25, thanks to a jackpot run lasting more than a year, resulting in a $37.3 million prize awarded last June. It was the second-largest Lotto America jackpot ever won.
Cash Pop continues to expand, with 16 jurisdictions offering the game during FY25, up two from the previous year with the addition of North Carolina and Oregon. Three of those 16 offer Cash Pop as a monitor game (Kentucky, New Jersey and West Virginia), alternating with Keno. The others run from one to several drawings per day; those 13 lotteries generated more than $600.6 million in sales during the year. Florida leads the way with more than $137 million in Cash Pop sales in FY25.
The “for-life” games, Cash4Life and Lucky for Life (we also include Oregon’s Win for Life in this category), combined for $696.5 million in sales, down 3.3%.
Local lotto games in aggregate slipped by 3.3%, to $3.5 billion. These games may be jackpot-driven or have set top prizes; many lotteries offer two or more games in this category. Double-digit gains for the category were recorded in Arkansas (+13.8%), Mississippi (+10.0%), New Jersey (+11.1%), and South Carolina (+29.4%). The latter result is due to the relaunch of Palmetto Cash 5 in March 2024, introducing a rolling jackpot and a built-in multiplier, with a new ticket price of $2.
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As a group, daily numbers games (from 2 to 5 digits) generated $11.8 billion in FY25, down about 1% from the previous year. The Delaware Lottery added Play 5 in August 2024, the ninth lottery to offer a five-digit daily game. Most of those lotteries are still seeing year-to-year gains in five-digit games, which are typically newer products.
Twenty-three lotteries offer Keno as a monitor game, and aggregate sales in FY25 were $4.6 billion, down 2.6%. Massachusetts is the dominant player in Keno, reporting almost $1.3 billion in FY25, up 2.7%. The only other lotteries reporting growth in Keno sales during the year were New Hampshire (+4.3%) and Connecticut (+1.2%.) Additional monitor games are offered in 10 jurisdictions, and they recorded total sales of $501 million, up 5.1%. Leading the way in this group were Rhode Island (+28.5%), New Jersey (+10.1%) and Maryland (+6.2%).
Across the country, 27 lotteries offer instant games printed via the lottery terminals (which may be called Fast Play, InstaPlay, EZ Play, Fast Cash, or other names, depending on the jurisdiction). They generated more than $1.6 billion sales in FY25, up 5.0%. Nineteen of those lotteries reported an increase in sales, with eight achieving double-digit gains when comparing full years (Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, New Hampshire and New Mexico). Illinois is the clear leader, offering Fast Play in various forms, including through online channels. Total Illinois Fast Play sales in FY25 were more than $541 million, almost 90% coming through online sales.
Online Sales
Two lotteries launched an iLottery platform during FY25, bringing the total number to 14. West Virginia began in October 2024, while Kansas launched last February. Both offer eInstants and a limited selection of draw games. Also offering different types of games are District of Columbia, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Virginia. Offering only draw games are Connecticut, Illinois and North Dakota.
Net revenues for eInstant games jumped almost 30% to $1.3 billion. Virginia still leads the way with $360 million in net eInstant revenue during the year, up 16.3% from FY24. North Carolina is not far behind with its first full year offering eInstants, coming in at $329.2 million.
Online sales of draw games brought in sales of just under $1.5 billion; these sales are included in the individual draw game categories. That number is down 6.3%, feeling the impact of the national game declines. Illinois continues to be the top online performer when only draw games are considered, with $701.5 million in online and subscription sales. As noted earlier, that’s due in large part to the availability of Fast Play through digital channels.
As we previously noted, due to different ways lotteries report eInstant “sales,” we have standardized eInstant reporting as net after prizes in all jurisdictions offering these products, so the numbers included here may differ from what a lottery presents in their public financials. We felt this was an important step, given the considerable differences in eInstant performance based on things like game mix and prize payout percentages. There may still be some differences in the way bonuses are counted, but now the numbers are more generally comparable across jurisdictions. Draw game sales through iLottery, though, continue to be reported as actual sales and these numbers are included in their respective game categories.
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Sports Betting and Casino Gaming
Similarly, we have standardized reporting on sports betting as net after prizes – some lotteries define sales as gross receipts, while others report sports betting net of prizes. These are vastly different numbers and the adjustment is necessary for fair comparisons. Casino gaming is also reported as net of prizes.
For the purposes of this report, 12 lotteries currently operate or regulate sports betting. Two of them, North Carolina Education Lottery and Virginia Lottery, serve as the licensing and regulating body in their states, and we include them here although they are not the operators. These 12 jurisdictions generated more than $2.4 billion in gross gaming revenue during FY25, up 37.4%. We do include the reported or calculated tax on that revenue in the stated transfers to beneficiaries, even though it’s not a perfect reporting solution to show the importance of these multi-faceted lottery organizations.
Nine American jurisdictions now offer VLTs or slots through lottery organizations: Delaware, Maryland, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Virginia and West Virginia. Table games are available in Delaware, Maryland, Rhode Island, Virginia and West Virginia.
Lotteries offering gaming machines and table games continue to set records in these activities. Gross gaming revenue from video lottery terminals or slot machines increased by 4.8%, to almost $9.7 billion. Table games activity grew to almost $1.1 billion, a 0.8% gain.
We continue to note that gaming and sports betting in Kansas is not included in this report. There is a unique partnership in the state between the Kansas Lottery and the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission, and while the Lottery holds contracts with private companies for casino management (which also operate sports betting), and distributes the related revenues, the actual gaming and sports regulation is under the umbrella of the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission.
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The Canadian Experience
North of the border, Canada’s sales were boosted by the strong performance of Lotto Max, the country’s dominant draw game. With favorable jackpot rolls and some exciting changes, game sales were up 17.5% to more than C$2 billion. In September 2024, the maximum Lotto Max jackpot was increased from C$70 million to C$80 million, a previously unheard-of prize in Canada. Through the end of the fiscal year (which in Canada ends in March), two jackpots reached that level. And for the first time, there was a national second-chance promotion for Lotto Max, the Lotto Max Dream Big Contest, which generated significant interest.
In contrast to Lotto Max, sales of Lotto 6/49 were down 12.6% in FY25, to just under C$1.1 billion. Fewer jackpots reaching least C$40 million were the primary reason for the decline.
Combined, Canada’s two flagship lotto games generated almost C$3.1 billion in sales (up 4.9% from the previous year), 37% of the total among lotteries reporting sales figures.
The third national draw game, Daily Grand, was up 1.0% across the country, with almost every province reporting sales gains for total sales of C$121.8 million.
Regional draw games and daily numbers games were particularly strong in the primary provinces under the management of Western Canada Lottery Corp.
Nationwide, Canada’s instant games account for about 30% of traditional sales. In FY25, these games were down in most provinces, with the exception of those in Atlantic Canada. There, total instant sales set a new record, reaching more than C$270.6 million in FY25, up 1.0%. The primary contributor to that growth was the $5 MEGA 360 game.
Overall, total sales of traditional games in Canada inched ahead, with more than C$8.3 billion in sales, up 0.6%. This figure, and the sales numbers above, do not include Loto-Québec, which reports only gross gaming revenue, not sales.
Canada Sales Summary
(Canadian dollars in millions; excluding Québec)
FY 2024 | FY 2025 | Increase (Decrease) | % Change | |
Instants | $2,577.5 | $2,482.3 | ($95.2) | -3.7% |
Pulltabs | 122.1 | 124.4 | 2.3 | 1.9% |
Lotto 6/49 | 1,237.9 | 1,082.4 | (155.5) | -12.6% |
Lotto Max | 1,711.1 | 2,010.2 | 299.1 | 17.5% |
For Life games | 120.6 | 121.8 | 1.2 | 1.0% |
All other lotto games | 306.8 | 341.8 | 35.1 | 11.4% |
Daily numbers (2-4 digits) | 237.4 | 237.7 | 0.3 | 0.1% |
Spiel games | 624.4 | 643.5 | 19.1 | 3.1% |
Sports betting | 561.7 | 524.2 | (37.5) | -6.7% |
Club Keno | 388.2 | 376.8 | (11.4) | -2.9% |
Daily keno | 113.3 | 109.5 | (3.8) | -3.4% |
Hybrid instant/draw games | 130.2 | 104.5 | (25.7) | -19.8% |
All other games | 164.7 | 187.0 | 22.3 | 13.5% |
Total draw games | 5,596.3 | 5,739.4 | $143.1 | 2.6% |
Total traditional games | 8,295.9 | 8,346.0 | 50.1 | 0.6% |
Electronic gaming machines (net) | 422.1 | 405.9 | (16.2) | -3.8% |
Table games (net) | 2.0 | 1.8 | (0.2) | -7.6% |
Grand total sales | $8,720.0 | $8,753.7 | $33.8 | 0.4% |
Note: These figures do not include Québec, which reports all games only on a net basis (gross gaming revenue); net figures are not comparable to sales.
Notes on the Charts
In presenting the data underlying our annual review of lottery sales, it is always important that games are categorized similarly across jurisdictions. The advent of sports betting and iLottery brought new challenges, as these products may be reported as gross play (or handle) in some jurisdictions and as net after prizes in others. With both products, we have taken the position of reporting “sales” as net after prizes (gross gaming revenue), similar to the lottery offerings of gaming machines and table games. There still may be differences in how lotteries treat promotions in the calculation of gross gaming revenue.
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We also add our usual caveats regarding transfers to beneficiaries. Depending on factors that include accounting methods and various statutory requirements or appropriations based on previous performance or projections, transfers may not be indicative of current-year profits. We also include statutory or dedicated funding to problem gambling programs that are in addition to standard beneficiary transfers; it’s important for lotteries to be recognized for all the contributions they make to government programs.
Because of all these factors we believe are for the good of the industry, the numbers for some jurisdictions in this report may vary from what lotteries publish in their own annual reports.
One final note about fiscal years. It has always been the case that different year-ends can impact lotteries relative to their peers if the timing of a big jackpot pushes sales into different years – this has never been more evident than the last couple of years. We note that Canada’s lotteries end their year on March 31, while in the United States most years end June 30; the exceptions are New York (March 31), Texas (August 31), and Michigan and the District of Columbia (September 30).
